Leeds Beckett joins the UK Reproducibility Network

The UKRN was officially launched in 2019, with a formal aim of improving the reproducibility and reliability of research in the UK. The UKRN relies heavily on grassroots support and provides a light-touch framework for organising and co-ordinating open research engagement and activities across institutions.

In becoming an institutional member of the UKRN, Leeds Beckett University has committed to supporting the UKRN’s four common statements, which are intended to encourage the uptake of a responsible and reproducible research culture across the institution. The four common statements are:

1. Transparency in research.
2. Responsible research evaluation.
3. Rewarding and incentivising open research practises.
4. Open research as an imperative for institutions to boost revenue and reputation.

There are two formal institutional roles available to academics through the UKRN. The first is the local network lead, who promotes engagement with reproducible and rigorous research practices within the institution and liaises with URKN through online communications and meet-ups. I have been the local network lead for Leeds Beckett University since 2021, and have promoted engagement with open science practices though the Open Research and Scholarship Network, tied to the Centre for Psychological Research (PsyCen).

The second role available to academic members of senior management is the institutional lead, which is a role created for universities who are institutional members of the UKRN. The institutional lead is tasked with supporting the delivery of UKRN activities within the institution, for example by creating incentives for engaging with reproducible research practices, or embedding training across teaching programmes. Professor Brendan Gough is the recently appointed institutional lead for Leeds Beckett University.

There are clear benefits to Leeds Beckett University in becoming a formal member of the UKRN. The creation of the institutional lead facilitates the embedding of reproducible research practices across the university, which will, long-term, work to create a more robust and reliable research culture within the institution.

Ultimately, this will improve the quality of the research outputs produced - something that has clear benefits for university rankings, including within the Research Excellence Framework (REF).

This will allow Leeds Beckett University to attract and retain academics who are committed to excellent research - and it will also support the training of all researchers in reproducible research practices.

However, the most important benefit is that a full membership of the URKN is a clear signal that Leeds Beckett University is committed to promoting a reproducible research culture, thereby positioning the institution at the forefront of what is arguably the most important research culture shift in UK research in recent times: the open research movement.